Special to the Philanthropy Journal
By Robin Shroyer
This article is part of an ongoing series with FleishmanHillard, a full-service global public relations agency. The firm specializes in multiple channels and industries including nonprofit, consumer, healthcare and technology. The group is driven by a mission to go beyond for clients and to consistently develop bold work that creates value and changes conversations. In line with this mission, members of the FleishmanHillard team will continue to share their expertise and insights on topics that touch both the professional and personal lives of those in the workforce.
Blogs had a humble beginning back in the 90s, serving as an open platform for all ages to use in the form of a dairy. Details included everything from recounting a person’s daily activities to sharing their deepest thoughts and ponderings. Since then, the medium has come a LONG way! Functioning as a space for current news, inspiration and world-views, blogs have become a staple stop when searching for content. In fact, you’re likely visiting blogs more often than you realize —since many fall under the disguise of a standard website.
Nonprofit professionals can greatly benefit from reading these free information sources on everything from fundraising to legality. Below are five “must-follow” sites to put on your radar.
Nonprofit Legal Advice: Cullinane Law Group Blog
Want to launch a nonprofit, but you don’t know where to start? Filing taxes for your organization but have uncertainties around the related IRS forms? This blog offers a wealth of resources for legal questions that can bottleneck progress for the profession, all in an easy to understand format.
The blog is written by the Cullinane Law Group, a Texas-based law firm specializing in non-profit law. You can read more on how to be legally compliant here.
Blogging and Online Marketing Advice: Smart Passive Income
“Paid” can be a scary word given then weight of each donor dollar. However, when it comes time to allocate funding for a greater ROI, having a deep understanding to guide decisions is vital. Pat Flynn’s blog, Smart Passive Income, equips readers with a transparent approach to building and maintaining a successful online presence and in-depth look at your burning marketing questions.
The pages are chock full of ideas for generating passive income, tips for innovative marketing and case studies from other successful companies. Pat has self-proclaimed his blog the “crash test dummy for online business.”
Storytelling and Messaging Advice: The Storytelling Non-Profit
Early on in life, we all learned there’s nothing like hearing a good story—remember those bed-time reads we begged for as children? Our preference as professionals haven’t changed.
Vanessa Chase, blogger for the Storytelling Nonprofit, offers tips to help nonprofits improve their fundraising through strong and personalized messages –or in other words— stories. Vanessa offers an easy-to-implement approach to relationship building, newsletter writing and visual storytelling.
Motivation and Self Improvement Advice: Addicted2Success
All those engaged in business want to see their company or cause “be in the black.” This blog offers motivation and inspiration for both personal and professional areas of life.
With the theme of “be your best self” the blog addresses generating creativity, facing your fears, negotiating and chasing life goals. There’s also a wide-variety of content formats for professionals to seek out their own motivation in the form of written words, video or even podcasts.
Marketing and Fundraising: Recharity
Running a nonprofit requires you to remain agile, innovative and resourceful. Stay one step ahead with Recharity, a blog dedicated to all aspects of nonprofit management. From leadership, to storytelling and activating millennials, this blog provides a holistic view of ways to improve your fundraising efforts. Check in daily to dive into donation management, traffic drivers, cost evaluation and so much more.
These blogs were each selected on their merit and FleishmanHillard has no affiliation with any of the blogs or bloggers referenced in this article.
Robin Shroyer is a vice president with FleishmanHillard specializing in social content and campaign strategy. She has designed and executed over 40 full-scale influencer campaigns for companies of all sizes.
